September 2025 – Meadow Maintenance
Throughout September the Hyndburn’s Woodlands project has been carrying out extensive work on the wildflower meadows managed through the project.
Meadows managed include the two meadows located in Whinney Hill woodland (the butterfly glade at the tops, and the meadow adjacent to the pond), and jubilee meadow.
For Jubilee, we rehired our expert tractor driver who managed to cut jubilee in a couple of hours, this would have normally taken staff and volunteers 2-3 volunteer days to do. Yellow-rattle was again sown into the meadow, but in much larger quantities. This Summer (2025), we saw quite a few large clumps of Yellow-rattle from the previous seasons sowing (The first major success in establishing a wildlife meadow at Jubilee). Yellow-rattle is an extremely useful plant in wildflower meadow creation, as it parasitises grass, reducing its overall abundance, which in turn is good for wildflowers, as there is less competition for them. Despite nearly 4 years of grassland management at Jubilee, the grass is still quite dense, likely due to the previous dominant land use (cow grazing), which has left the area very fertile.
The butterfly glade located at the top of Whinney Hill, on the other hand, is very fine and sparse (Very handy for scything!). This is due to a combination of previous land use (previously a tip) and continual management through the Hyndburn’s Butterfly Project (and later, the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Project). This year around 15 wildflowers were recorded onsite, a number we are quite proud of, but would love to see increase. To that end, we have sown more Yellow-rattle, wildflower seeds, and planted wildflower bulbs such as Ramsons (Wild garlic) and Wood Anemone. We are hoping to plant UK native Bluebells too (when the bulbs are back in stock!). We have also cut further into the periphery than previous years, in an attempt to extend the glades overall size.
The wildflower meadow located adjacent to the Whinney Hill pond had a major highlight this year, with Common blue butterflies being recorded onsite (both male and female). Management is thus being aimed at increasing their numbers via targeted scything and seed sowing. This involves retaining as much Birds-foot trefoil as possible (as this is the Common blue’s host plant). The meadow here is quite dense so the scything does very much take its toll, but we managed to get it all cut and raked off (aside from patches of Trefoil).
Thank you to all our incredible volunteers who help us with these tasks, it is a lot of effort (and perhaps a touch therapeutic), but the pollinators of Hyndburn will thank you in future generations.
As always, thank you to the funders of the project (Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund) for making all of this possible.
Butterfly Bank September 2025 Update
Before and After Construction
Black Knapweed
Peel Park Primary School Seed Sowing & Plug Planting
Ox-eye Daisy
Weeding with Volunteers
Pleck Meadow’s 4th Annual Cut (2025)
Ensuring that small critters get out of the way!
The compact tractor next to Pleck Meadow's carved bench.
Aerial view of the cut!
Removing Creeping Thistle.
Pleck Meadow's South Entrance was also cut!
Tractor and volunteers with a view of the wind farm in the background.
View of tractor and volunteer.
Brookside Volunteers Enjoy Scything Masterclass
Family Fun at Brookside – Hapa Zome Printing
On Monday this week, we hosted a Hapa Zome printing session at the Stanhill Methodist Church. This ancient Japanese art involves hammering flowers and leaves into woven fabric to create beautiful natural designs. Our session used materials gathered from around Hyndburn, and the results were wonderful!
Saturday 2nd August 2025 – Puppet Making
On Saturday 2nd August the Hyndburn’s Woodlands project held a ‘marionette puppet making’ event at Bank Mill House! This was the first time the project had ran this type of session but we are very happy to say it went extremely well!
Participants were handed kits that were created from locally coppiced Hazel. Each kit contained a body, a head, 4 long lengths (tops of arms and legs) and 4 smaller lengths (hands and feet). Participants then tied the pieces together using eye screws, one open and one closed, the open eye screw was then closed using pliers.
Once all the pieces were secured participants could decorate the puppet however they liked! Afterwards, organic yarn was used to add strings to the puppet, which was secured to the puppet control using masking tape (premade, and after much trial and error).
Everybody’s puppets came out looking wonderful and functional! We were amazed and very happy to see the finished products! Thank you very much to everyone who came along, we hope you had a lovely time and are enjoying your new puppet toys. Thank you also to Bank Mill House for lending their incredible space for the event!
As always, thank you to our funders at Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund for making it all possible.
Over £6.5k raised for our Community Tree Nursery
Over £6.5k raised by the general public for our Community Tree Nursery
The generous people of Hyndburn and beyond raised an incredible £6,712 during our Prospects Community Tree Nursery Crowdfunder Campaign!
The Campaign opened on the 28th May 2025, and in under 24 hours, we hit our initial target of £2,000! This meant that we were able to create a 'Stretch Target' of £4,500, which we surpassed!
This unbelievable amount raised means that we can start to build tree planting beds and buy the necessary materials and tools to grow thousands of trees, and we can also improve the paths and access points into the nursery, making the site more accessible and safe for everyone.
Local people and school groups will soon be able to collect local UK native tree seeds and nuts, grow them into saplings at the Community Tree Nursery, and plant them across Hyndburn. The trees grown at the Community Tree Nursery will boost biodiversity, tackle climate change, mitigate flood risks, reduce the effects of pollution, help cool the air during increasingly frequent heatwaves, and inspire pride in our green spaces
If you missed your chance to donate but want to help out the project in other ways, why not think about volunteering and becoming a Tree Champion? There are plenty of ways to get involved, including:
- - Joining group outings to collect seeds from native trees in autumn
- - Planting acorns into specially designed air-pruning beds
- - Preparing berries for the stratification process
- - Sowing seeds into protective, rodent-proof containers
- - Transferring young seedlings into root trainer cells
- - Helping with watering, care, and ongoing nursery maintenance
- - Joining in with tree planting sessions in winter
A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated, and a special thank you to our Corporate Sponsors: Ellison Printing, Community Rail Lancashire, Lowe Maintenance and WOODY (Hyndburn) CIC - your donations will make a significant contribution to the project.
Thank you to the Aviva Community Fund for match-funding every donation up to £250.
For those interested in participating in future tree growing and tree planting opportunities, please contact the Prospects Foundation at info@prospectsfoundation.org.uk.
Check out the TreeACTION webpage HERE and have a look at our Crowdfunder page and campaign video HERE
The Big Butterfly Count Comes to Brookside!
Gatekeeper
Peacock
Green veined white
Friday 25th July 2025 – Let’s Move Hyndburn
On Friday 25th July 2025 the Hyndburn’s Woodlands Project hosted a stall at one of this year’s ‘Let’s Move Hyndburn’ events! This time we were at Mercer Park, Rishton Road, Clayton-le-moors, Accrington, BB5 5PN.
The Let’s Move scheme creates events aimed at encouraging residents of all ages to participant in outdoor activities, connect with the community, and celebrate local green spaces.
This year we hosted a wood cookie decorating event, where participants could create naturally themed artwork on wood cookies. Participants would then use hand drills to create holes through their cookies, which could then be strung with cotton yarn to be made into necklaces! We had lots of visitors at our stall and almost everyone made necklaces which added to the festivities around the park!
We also got the chance to talk to a lot of residents about the work we do at The PROSPECTS Foundation, encourage people to visit our eco-friendly refill store, and informing people about some of the wonderful green spaces we have in Hyndburn.
Thank you to Hyndburn Borough Council for inviting us to come along, it was a lovely day and we really enjoyed ourselves!
As always, thank you to our funders at Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, and the Windfall Fund for making it all possible.
Brookside Restoration Summer Newsletter is Out!
Stanhill Fete Returns to Ossy, with Brookside Front and Centre
The Brookside Restoration Ppoject team enjoyed a sunny and successful day at the Stanhill Fete, making the most of the event’s much-anticipated return after last year’s haitus. The village came alive with stalls, music, and community spirit, and provided the perfect setting for conversations about the future of Brookside.
Over the course of the afternoon, the team spoke with a wide range of local residents, and even a few famous faces including County Councillor Gaynor Hargreaves, the Mayor of Hyndburn, and councillors Zak Khan and Kimberley Whitehead.
“It was fantastic to see so much enthusiasm for the project,” said Aliosn Silver, of the PROSPECTS Foundation. “Events like this really highlight how important it is to put the community at the heart of what we’re doing, and to make sure that the plans for Brookside reflect the hopes and priorities of the people who know the area best."
Hyndburn’s Nature Reserves July 2025 Newsletter
Brookside Project Officer Alice Inspires Young Environmentalists During Great Big Green Week 2025
As part of Great Big Green Week 2025, Brookside Project Officer Alice met with enthusiastic school children across Hyndburn to discuss the future of Brookside. During the engaging session, pupils shared creative and thoughtful proposals for what they would like to see in a brand-new local nature reserve.
Alice praised the students for their passion and innovative ideas, noting their deep care for wildlife and the environment. The children’s proposals ranged from wildflower meadows to birdwatching areas and accessible walking trails. Whilst some of the proposals were a little outlandish (we are sorry to report that there will not be a rollercoaster installed on site any time soon!), the input from the students is a valuable asset to the project.
“This generation has a real vision for nature,” said Alice. “Their ideas could shape a local nature reserve that benefits both people and wildlife.”
The proposals will be reviewed as part of the wider Brookside Restoration development phase.
Brookside Stuns at Ecofest 2025
Taking a VR tour of Brookside
The project team unveil the Brookside vision
PROSPECTS Staff enjoying the fruits of their hard work
Community Groups Take First Look at the Brookside Draft Masterplan!
Volunteers and Local Corporations Join Hands Against Balsam at Brookside
2024-25 Annual Report
Our 2024-2025 Annual Report is hot off the press! With 36 pages packed full of information and photos from our activities over the last 12 months, you can download a copy here or pop into our offices on Broadway to collect a printed version.
Hyndburn’s Nature Reserves June 2025 Newsletter
VE Celebrations at Brookside
VE Day Celebrations at Brookside
The Brookside Thursday gang hung up their tools early on Thursday to celebrate VE Day. After a successful morning planting wildflower seeds, the six humans and three dogs sat down to enjoy a picnic in the sun.
